Biosphere: survival
by k75
Summary: A new element is introduced into earths atmosphere causing a dramatic change in the DNA of earths inhabitants. This story is about the survival of those living in this new world and the challenges they face, as a society and as individuals.
1. Chapter 1

It was a night like any other. Everyone on the planet went about their routines. Some went to sleep, others were out partying, and some were sitting on their computer long into the night. But what none of them saw was the comet that had entered earths atmosphere. Caught in the earths gravity, it plummeted around the planet. The comet began to break up leaving a multicolored trail in the sky. A trail that would later be called The Streak. And contained in The Streak was an element previously unknown to mankind, but one that would forever be remembered by it.

Kevin was sleeping in his bed while The Streak happened above him. He didn't hear anything as Element X entered the atmosphere. And he didn't feel anything as he breathed it in. He slept soundly and deeply, till eventually he woke up. But it was a new world he was waking up too.

The first thing Kevin noticed when he woke up was an intense thirst, like he had not had a drink in weeks. He went to sit up and found that he couldn't, he was trapped in something. Panic started to set in as he tried to break free.

"HELP! Someone help me!" He yelled but couldn't hear anything from his prison. He punched and thrashed against the wall above him but it wouldn't budge. But then he felt a surge of energy, like he was flexing every muscle in his body. Then with one enormous punch he shattered the wall above him. The air that flooded in was stale and moist. He broke away at the wall to the point he could sit up. He looked down at his legs to see he was encased in a giant cocoon. Then he looked around and was stunned by what he saw. Kevin lived in a cabin with two lofts, and as he looked around he could scarcely recognize it. The entire place was covered in a thick coating of spider web, it looked as if it had snowed in his house. There was webbing hanging from every rafter. Kevin had to slither to get out of the cocoon. He reached over to grab his glasses, and after he ripped the webbing off of them he put them on. But to his surprise they made his vision blurry, he took them off and realised he could see just fine without them. He then grabbed his phone to find that the battery was dead. He tried his lamp but it wouldnt turn on. He then remembered his roommate.

"Tommy, are you ok?" He called to the other loft. He heard a rustling sound and figured tommy must be in a cocoon too.

"Hold on I'm coming over" Kevin said as he ripped through the webbing blocking his way. His ladder had been knocked over and covered in web. So he jumped and made a loud thud as he hit the ground. There was more rustling coming from Tommy's room.

"I'm ok, just hold on" Kevin said reassuringly. He climbed Tommy's ladder and pulled back the flap covering the entrance to the room. It was very dark inside. Kevin couldn't see anything.

"Tommy?" Kevin called. The rustling sound was coming from right in front of him. Then he saw a large black shape lunge at him. He fell back off the ladder as a giant spider the size of a dog came flying out of the doorway. Kevin landed on his back and saw the spider climb to the roof above him.

"Holy shit" Kevin mumbled without thinking. He got up to run as the spider jumped off the ceiling toward him. It landed on his back and pinned him to the ground. He felt its massive incisors bite into his shoulder. But they didn't puncture his skin. The spider bit again, with venom dripping from its fangs. But it couldn't break through his skin. Kevin rolled to throw the spider off of him. He got up and grabbed a piece of wood off the floor. He turned around in time to see the spider jumping at him. He raised the wood and the spider impaled itself on the shaft. The force of the spider knocked Kevin against the wall. Its body was on top of him and he could feel the goo from its body dripping all over him. He pushed it off and pulled himself upright. He climbed the ladder again. He ripped the flap off and light flooded the room. This time he could see in the room, and he saw there was no one there. The room was empty. He heard a hissing noise behind him and looked down to see the goo from the spider was eating away the floor.

"Acid blood, why not?" Kevin said aloud to himself. Then remembering it had gotten on him he looked down to see his clothes dissolving. He ripped his clothes off fearing it would burn his skin, but it didn't. The goo just fizzed and evaporated off of his skin. He had thrown his clothes down in his panic to get the acid off. He looked at them now to see them wither and turn to a dark residue on the floor.

"That was my favorite shirt" Kevin thought as he grabbed another set of clothes out of his room. They were tattered and covered in mold, but they were wearable. He grabbed a knife and went outside to check on his cousins next door. He was even more stunned by the scene outside.


	2. Chapter 2

The trees had grown massive. They had to be atleast 100 feet tall. And the leaves were a rainbow of colors. The ferns covering the branches were purple and had long dangling vines coming from them. The vines had large purple balls at their end and they where blocking his way. He walked up to one and threw a rock at it. It just sat there.

"I don't know what I expected" Kevin thought. He walked up to the patch of them and went to push them out of the way. As soon as he touched them they all started whipping around and slamming into him. He backed up but not without being pummeled by the plants. He was punched to the ground and out of their reach.

"Oh what the fuck!" Kevin yelled. He sat on the ground looking at the plants trying to see a way around. Then he saw that there was a gap between the vines and the ground. Big enough for him to crawl past them. And so he did, and once past the ferns he could see his cousins house. It looked like a storm had hit it. The roof was caved in and the front door was destroyed. He walked up to the doorway and saw the door had been ripped apart. the wood was still on the hinges, but there wasn't any door attached to it. He brought his knife up and walked inside. There was green moss covering the ground. All the furniture had plants growing over them.

"How long have I been asleep?" Kevin thought to himself. He walked around the house but didn't find anyone. But he did find some cans of food in the cabinets, and a case of water that he sat and drank. Once he felt refreshed he went to look around outside. Avoiding all the trees, he saw that all the vehicles were gone, including his. It was getting dark so he went back to his cabin. It may of been a spider den but it had a roof and a door. He checked every crevice in his home for anymore spiders. Confident he got the one that was in there he went back to his room. He pulled off the webs in his room and threw them off his loft.

"It looks like nothings changed" he thought as he looked around his room. He heard the noises of the nocturnal creatures waking up. He barricaded the front door and sat in his bed with his knife as he listened to all the sounds he didn't recognize. But then he heard one he did know. A helicopter flew in the distance. He listened carefully as its sound moved from the west to the east.

"Ok so I'm not alone. Now I just have to find them." Kevin mumbled bewildered at having to get through the forest on his own. He stayed up listening to the sounds of the night till he dosed off.


	3. Chapter 3

Kevin awoke to the sounds of birds chirping. He looked up and almost thought it had all been a dream. Then he looked over and saw the rest of the house still covered in web. He sighed then pulled himself out of bed. He didn't know how far he was going to need to travel or for how long. So he grabbed a backpack and stuffed it with everything he thought would be useful. He set off to find the main road. He followed his long driveway which had become overgrown with vegetation. He used his knife as a machete. He was trying to be quiet, as he didn't want to run into anything else that wanted to eat him. He heard a loud whistle followed by more. It kept getting louder and closer. Kevin got down low to hide in the brush. That's when he saw something even stranger then the multicolored trees. The whistling was coming from a flock of birds that where swinging through the trees. They had clawed hands and feet but their entire bodies where covered in feathers. They swung from branch to branch and some brave ones would grab the fern vines and jump away before they got hit. They would do flips and glide to another branch. Whistling to each other the whole time. Then just as soon as the showed up, they passed by.

Kevin continued to try and make his way to the main road. He eventually made it to what was left of the road. But It was all tore up. In some spots the growing trees had broken through the asphalt. Sending pieces of the street straight up along side the trunks of the trees. In other places it looked like the ground had been dug up. It wasn't what Kevin expected but it was easier to travel on then hacking through the brush.

He made decent time while he moved along the road. But he felt exposed. Several houses along the road where just as destroyed as his cousins was. When the sun started to set he picked a house and went inside to hide out the night.

Kevin barricaded himself in the only room left with walls. It was a baby nursery and the door wouldn't lock. Kevin flipped the crib and a dresser against the door. He heard several noises he didn't recognize from daytime. Some he recognized as the birds he saw earlier, which was comforting to him. After a small meal he curled up in a corner and soon fell asleep from exhaustion. He was in a deep sleep when a foreboding thud landed on the roof above him.

BAM! "What the hell was that?" Kevin thought as he was startled awake. He heard the creaking of the roof as something walked across it. It moved to the far side of the roof then jumped off. Kevin let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. And then laid back down to fall asleep. He didnt notice the eyes looking at him through the window.

Kevin had just drifted into his dream when he heard a faint creak that woke him up again. He wasn't even sure he heard it, but then there was another. He sat still and listened to the footsteps through the wall behind him. They where soft steps but big. He could hear the rustling of fur. Then all the sounds stopped. Kevin pressed his ear against the wall to listen closer. He could hear it sniffing the other side of the wall. Then without warning a massive clawed paw crashed through the wall. Kevin dodged out of the way at inhuman speed. The claw retreated out of the hole. There was a low growl coming from outside. The moonlight shining through the window illuminated two large yellow eyes staring at Kevin through the hole. Kevin lifted his knife and it glistened in the moonlight. The sound of raindrops started falling on the rooftop.

"Well come on then!" Kevin yelled. Then the beast attacked. It crashed through the wall. Kevin could see it now that it was in the light. It looked like a giant tiger with long pointed ears and spikes along its back. It was dark blue , nearly black with bright blue spots running along its side. It let out a roar that shook the house and rattled the windows. Kevin was terrified, but stood his ground. It ran at him and leapt to grab ahold with its massive claws. Kevin stabbed out with his knife aiming for its head. The tiger dodged to the side a swatted Kevin with its paws. The blow sent him flying threw the window and out into the rain. The rain had picked up and was falling heavily now. Thunder and lightning raged above. Kevin got to his feet as the tiger stepped out of the hole he crashed through. He had lost the knife when he was hit. He kept an eye on the tiger as he looked for a place to run. There was nothing but trees nearby. So he picked one he could try and climb and ran for it. He didn't get half way before the tiger pounced on him. He smelled its breath as it clamped down on his body. Its claw holding his legs. It couldn't tear through his skin but it was still crushing him. Kevin was being drowned in the mud. He could feel his body slipping away. But then he felt that tensing in his body again. So he used it, he pushed the tension till he felt it snap. Like flexing a muscle his body extended and shifted as his new bones and tendons slipped into place. His arms grew longer and the muscles set into place. His hand retracted to reveal sharp claws. His spine decompressed and he grew taller. His clothes ripped as he expanded. His skin stretched over his new body. The stretched skin exposed why nothing could bite him, he was covered in thick scales. His face elongated and sharp teeth pushed in next to his old ones. Kevin felt all of this, along with the new power that came with it. He turned and punched the tiger in its side. Knocking it off of him. Then he stood up and did as instinct commanded.

" ROOOOAR!" Kevin roared out into the night. The tiger roared back and started to circle. Kevin circled with it, eyes locked on one another. It charged and went for a death blow to Kevin's throat. Kevin brought up his clawed hands and grabbed the tiger by the throat. And with one mighty twist he broke its neck. The tiger went limp and fell in front of him. He looked around and could peer through the darkness around him. He saw many creatures staring at him. So he roared again.

"ROOOOOAR!" echoed through the forest. All the eyes of the forest were focused on Kevin, so he poured all his fear and frustration into another massive bloodthirsty roar. It was a challenge to all those watching and all the other creatures ran.

Kevin pulled the tiger into the house and out of the rain. Then he leaned against the wall to rest. He was still aware of the tension he felt before. So he let it go, and his body slid back to its original shape. He could still feel it all inside him. The muscles and bones just waiting for him to change again. He sat down against the wall and fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

When Kevin woke the next day he was hungry and wanted breakfast. He felt for the tension inside him and pulled it again. This time the change felt more controlled. He reached his clawed finger into the tiger and sliced through its hide. He lit a fire with a lighter he brought from home. As the meat cooked he searched the house for clothes. But none of the clothes where his size. So he skinned the tiger and made a robe. Once the meat was finished Kevin sat to enjoy his meal. He found tiger meat chewy, but it had a delectable taste. As he sat and ate he decided to get a better look at his new body. So he went and looked in a mirror. He was atleast 7 foot in his dragon form. He was dark green and his hair was stiff and pointed. It kept changing color as he looked at it. Kevin then felt a strange feeling under his foot. He peered down to see what looked like a three headed snake squirming under his foot.

"SNAKE!" He yelled instinctivly as he tried to jump away from it. The snake followed as he jumped. He grabbed it with his hand and went to pull it up.

"OWE!" He screamed out. It was attached. As Kevin looked closer it dawned on him.

"I have a tail!" He yelled in excitement. He spent the remainder of his meal playing with his tail. It was like a third arm. He used the three tips as fingers and could pick up anything. He tried eating with it but nearly stabbed himself. He cooked and wrapped as much of the meat as he could. It was noon by the time he left the camp. He pulled on his new coat and continued on. But today he traveled in his dragon form. He was faster than any human ever was. He could jump the massive tree roots and climb the huge rocks with ease. His skin would camafloge to whatever he was climbing on. He could smell everything around and hear things in the far distance.

He was running along the main road when he hear a great bellow. He ran toward the noise and heard many more bellows. He came to a road and saw an astounding site. It was a heard of animals walking along a highway. But these animals where twice the size of an elephant. They had spiky fur covering their body. They ranged in colors of brown and yellow to red and black. They looked like giant hedgehogs with a short thick snout coming out of its face and a thick spike coming out of the back if its head. They were very bizarre looking. Kevin climbed to the top of a tree to get a better look. That's when he heard them.

"Are we there yet?" A small kid asked.

"Does it look like were there?" A man replied. Kevin climbed down to where he would be eye level with them. Then before they arrived he turned back to his human form

.

"Hello!" Kevin called to them.

"Hello" the man called back.

"What's he doing out here alone? How is he alive on the ground?" The little kid asked

"I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me?" Kevin asked.

"What questions?" The man asked

"What happened? Why is everything different? Where is everyone?" Kevin rambled out.

"The Streak happened. Everyone knows that! Why are you in the woods?" The little kid yelled.

"I woke up in my house three days ago. Which is now in the woods apparently. What's The Streak?" Kevin replied.

"Wait so you've been asleep this whole time?" The man asked.

"Yes, I guess. Why how long ago did this happen?" Kevin said a little frantic.

"The Streak happened over a year ago. I think you should come with us. We are going to Newhaven." The man said.

"A year! It can't be. How can I sleep a year?" Kevin said desperate for answers.

"Idk buddy, but we need to get out of here. The woods arnt safe at night. Even if your on sixtons" the man said as he brought the sixton closer. As the sixton got close it reared up on its hind legs. It came down and rammed its head against the tree sending it crashing to the ground. But kevin wasnt on the tree. At the last instant his instincts said to jump. So he did and two massive wings unfurled from in his body stretching his skin with it to let him glide away from danger. Kevin landed on the sixton and held on to the spikes as he climbed to the top where the carriage sat.

"Sorry about that. Something must of spooked her." The man apologized.

"Yeah there are night cats and terror bats that come out at night. We wouldn't stand a chance against them. They would rip us to pieces and eat us" the kid said.

"Oh yeah, does a night cat happen to look like this?" Kevin said as he brought up the hood of his robe. The night cat head dropped in front of Kevin's face and he heard the kid scream.

"How did you kill a night cat?" The kid asked with wonder in his eyes.

"With my bare hands." Kevin said as he pulled the hood off.

"Can you tell me the story?" The kid asked wide eyed. And so Kevin did tell his story. From the beginning to meeting them.

"So you have powers too. So do I. Look!" The kid said as he brought his hands close together and sparks started to shoot between them.

"Well that's cool. So everyone changed after this Streak thing happened?" Kevin asked. The man spoke up this time.

"The Streak was a comet that burned up in the atmosphere. It released a element into the air called Xenomite or Element X for short. It causes mutations in everyone and everything. These sixtons we are riding use to be cows. It happened over a few days for some things. Giant bugs like the one you saw. But other things took more time to change. It sounds like your body went into a coma for your change. The rest of us had to suffer through the chaos." He said as if haunted by the memory.

"Ok so what happened to survivors? You mentioned a town. Newhaven?" Kevin asked, wondering if his family made it.

"Everyone banded together at certain spots with food and water. We built towns and villages like Newhaven. The government set up a registry system to keep track of everyone. Here comes Newhaven now" the man said. Kevin looked ahead and saw a massive wall built out of broken cars and rubble. It filled a gap between two hills.

"Why didn't they build on top of the hills?" Kevin asked.

"They did at first but then the terror bats came and destroyed most of it. Now they are in the valley to better defend against them." The little kid said. Kevin looked on as they came to the massive wall. People were leading the sixtons into a side gate that led into a large field with a lake. The man drove his sixton up next to a tall platform where he and the kid got up to leave. Kevin followed. They went downstairs and came to the street.

"There is a public bathing area that way on the second street to the right. You need one." The man said as he left.

"By mister" the kid said as he followed the man.


	5. Chapter 5

At that Kevin set off for a bath. He admitted to himself that he needed one. And his robe could use a wash. The town was busy. There were cars going up and down the street. People filled the sidewalks. There were many different people too. Some had horns,some where really tall and muscular,there was even a couple flying overhead. And kevin noticed his robe even matched some of the crowd. Several people were wearing sixton hide for clothing. The shops were open. Some selling fresh breads, others had clothes and weapons. Kevin kept walking down the streets till he found the public bath. They had sheets strung over the top of a large clear spring for those that needed privacy. Kevin laid his pack down and waded into the water with his robe. It was cold, but it felt refreshing. Kevin pulled off his robe and dove underwater. He came back up and rinsed the grime off his body. Then he started scrubbing all the dirt out of the night cat fur.

"Good as new" Kevin said as he waded back to shore. As he neared shore he saw a guy run by and grab his bag.

"Hey that's mine!" Kevin yelled. He threw on his robe,changed form, and gave chase. The thief was quick but Kevin was quicker. The thief jumped over a truck full of vegetables. Kevin followed behind him. He kept him in sight as he chased him down the street. Then with one jump the thief leapt on to the top of a shop and started running on the rooftops. Kevin jumped on top of a car then on top of the building. He tackled the thief. This is when Kevin got a good look at him. He looked like a goat human hybrid. The thief let out a "bah" noise then bit Kevin. Naturally the little goat bite didn't hurt Kevin. But it made him angry and he growled at the thief. That's when Kevin heard the flap of wings behind him.

"What's going on here?" A young guy in a cop uniform asked. He had bird wings and talons for fingers.

"This guy stole my bag" Kevin said. As he picked the goat man up.

"Is this true?" The second cop asked. He looked normal except that he was hovering in the air for no apparent reason. He had no wings, yet could fly.

"No I've never seen this guy before" the goat man said.

"Yeah, not till you stole my bag five minutes ago." Kevin retorted.

"Alright how about you tell us what happened." The bird cop said.

"I was in the public bath when I see this guy grab my bag. So I chased him till I caught him here." Kevin said.

"He's lying, that's my bag" the goat man said.

"Then what's inside it!" Kevin retorted.

"Some clothes...and a rope..." the goat man stammered before he tried to run. But Kevin grabbed him with his tail and held him there.

"Proof enough" Kevin asked.

"Yeah that'll do" the second cop said. He grabbed the goat man and hand cuffed him.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, have a nice day" the first cop said.

"Oh hold on, can you show me to the government registry?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah I can give you a lift." The bird cop said.

"No need, I have wings" Kevin said as he unfurled his wings from under his robe. He almost flashed the cops before remembering he had nothing on underneath. So he cut slits in his robe real quick to let his wings through. Once they where out the cops leapt into the sky and Kevin followed as best he could. They where graceful flyers, he was still clumsy.

"You dont fly much do you? Flap your wings in a beat" the bird cop said.

"First day actually. Got any pointers?" Kevin replied.

"Well you should use air currents to take you higher. Its less tireing that way. Never fly in a storm. And absolutely don't fly at night." The bird cop said sternly.

"Why not fly at night?" Kevin asked.

"Terror bats will pick you off like your a little bug" the second cop said. As they kept flying Kevin began to get the hang of it. Before long he was keeping pace with the cops.

"Well here's your stop" the bird cop said as they circled above a building.

"Thanks" Kevin said as he dove down to the street. He landed on the ground and turned back to his human form. He went up to the door of the government building to open it. He pulled on the handle but the door was locked. There was an hours sign on the door that said they will be open at eight in the morning tomorrow. So Kevin went down the alley next to the building. He pulled out a large chunk of the meat he'd cooked and ate his fill. Not wanting anyone to take his bag again he changed into his dragon form and wrapped his wings around himself. He wasn't cold in the brisk night air. In fact he hadn't felt cold at all since he's changed.

"Another perk to add to the list" Kevin thought before he let sleep take him.

Kevin woke up to the sound of a helicopter flying over him. It was the middle of the night and there was no moon or lights to brighten the sky. Then kevin felt a surge go through him. Like a deep bass shaking through his entire body. He didnt hear it, but felt its pulse. He could hear people yelling in the distance. Then another pulse went by and someone screamed. Then there was several loud booms and Kevin looked up to see fireworks exploding in the sky.

"Its a little late for fireworks" he thought as he watched the balls of light. The helicopter sound was moving around quickly, followed by a series of pulses. Another volley of fireworks lit up the night, this time it illuminated a massive silouete in the sky. The last firework in the volley exploded, spraying light on the beast above. It was a giant bat the size of a large plane, it had two huge wings silently flapping beside it and two smaller wings flapping quickly and creating the helicopter sound. The bat opened its jaws in a mute roar, and Kevin felt another bass pulse go through him. Then it turned quickly and flapped its huge wings once and faded into the darkness. Kevin sank to the ground trembling, he now understood why they were called terror bats.


End file.
